so where is mitt romney? he's out of sight at his house in california, totally cutting himself from the public and his party. "the washington post" says, quote, romney hangs around the house, sometimes alone, pecking away at his ipad, his rapid retreat into seclusion has been marked by repressed emotions, second guessing, and sustained boredom. it also says, romney has told friends he has no interest in helping the republican party rebuild and rebrand itself. so romney's gone, santorum has gone birther, and until something changes, the gop may be gone for good. joining me now is republican pollster christian saltise, vice president of the wednesday group. and erin mcpike, reporter with real clear politics. thank you both for joining me. >> thank you. >> thanks for having us. >> christian, let me start with you. is the gop in trouble as they figure things out? >> i think there's a lot of work to be done. so this 2012 election is proof that it's not 2004 again. we really got the best campaign that they had to o